Elderly couple allege indifference at Ferozepur civil hospital

FEROZEPUR: An elderly couple of Hamdawala village in Ferozepur district brought to the civil hospital here after experiencing symptoms like shortness in breathing, cough, cold and fever, has alleged callousness at the hands of the medical staff. Didar Singh and Balwinder Kaur had returned after attending the Hola Mohalla celebrations in Anandpur Sahib in Ropar district when they came to know about the demise of Nawanshahr resident Baldev Singh, who died after testing positive for coronavirus (Covid-19) and had attended the Hola Mohalla celebrations. They developed symptoms like cold, cough and shortness of breath. Without wasting time, their son Karaj Singh called the 108 ambulance on Wednesday and brought them to the Ferozepur civil hospital for medical examination. Karaj said Dr Gurmej Goraya attended to his parents and after checking them up he prescribed some few medicines to his father and recommended chest x-ray for his mother as she was having difficulty in breathing. “We waited for two hours to get the x-ray. My mother was already suffering from fever and was made to sit in the waiting hall of the hospital, which was congested with other patients,” he alleged, adding that when he asked the doctor to make her comfortable by shifting her to an isolation room made for such patients, he did not pay heed to his request. Karaj Singh said when he approached the ambulance driver, he refused to take them back to their village claiming that the vehicle was meant only for bringing patients to the hospital. “As the entire state is under curfew and there was no alternative arrangement available for our return to the village, I approached the senior medical officer asking for his help. He refused claiming that it is not part of his duty to arrange vehicles for the patients,” he alleged. Karaj Singh said on one hand the government was tracing all suspected Covid-19 cases in Punjab, on the other when he voluntarily came forward for scanning of his parents, who also attended Hola Mohalla celebrations at Anandpur Sahib with Baldev and had developed similar symptoms, he got no help. After hours of struggle, Karaj had to call a private ambulance to take his parents back to the village. Senior medical officer Dr Avinash Jindal, while appreciating the effort of Karaj for bringing his parents for medical examination to clear the doubts, said he couldn’t comment on the non-availability of the 108 ambulance as it was not under his jurisdiction.